The Unsung Heroes of Mobility: Travel Trainers

Senior Manager, Mobility and Innovation
Johnson County Transit, KS
Vice Chair, APTA Access Committee

I set out to convey a simple message: that travel training is an important resource in enabling mobility for people with disabilities across the country and that organizations should provide more of it. But then it occurred to me that this message just doesn’t do justice to the incredibly impactful work of travel trainers. I’d forgotten that when you meet a travel trainer, you learn (or remember) they don’t just teach people how to ride the bus. They teach people how to live again.

Like many, my path to public transit wasn’t planned, and it didn’t start with travel training. After all, travel training doesn’t make headlines. It’s not shiny new software or a ribbon cutting at some sprawling new facility. But I came to learn that it’s where the soul of public transit lives. It is among the purest forms of public service—people helping other people move through their communities, often for the first time in years.

That experience changed how I see mobility and independence. For several years, I led a successful travel training program here in Kansas City—work that continues to shape how I approach mobility today. While I’m no longer doing travel training myself, I carry it with me in everything I do. These days, much of my work centers on reimagining how our full network—paratransit, microtransit, and fixed-route services—can connect seamlessly and help people understand, navigate, and use the system with confidence. Because access without understanding isn’t really access. That perspective inspired me to shine a light on my colleagues’ successes, and while each trainer’s experience can stand on its own, together, they tell a beautiful story of how travel training transforms lives.

For starters, let me introduce you to a select few…

Peggy Groce—“The Pioneer”

“I never knew they couldn’t learn.”

That’s how Peggy Groce describes the beginning. In the 50s, 60s, and 70s, when schools still measured worth by IQ, she was in New York City working with students everyone else had quietly written off. She never got the memo that independence wasn’t possible, so she started asking why not, and then she proved it was.

From her base in the city’s public-school system, Peggy launched one of the first school-based travel training programs in the nation. Her team walked students block by block, bus stop to bus stop, teaching them to read signs, trust signals, ask questions, and navigate their neighborhoods with confidence. More than 15,000 students have gained independence through that work.

She often tells of September 11, 2001, when the city’s systems shut down and panic took over. Many of “her kids” used the skills they’d learned to find their way home through what felt like a war zone in Manhattan. It’s a chilling story and the real measure of impact travel training can have.

Peggy has always been honest about her city’s grit. “In New York, you don’t have time for excuses,” she said. “You figure it out.” That’s how she approaches independence too—as something you have a right to, and need to build, not something you wait for.

More than 55 years later, the program she built in New York City’s public schools continues to thrive. Since 1970, more than 16,000 students with significant disabilities have completed travel training, with an 86–90 percent success rate. The program’s validity was formally recognized by New York State in 1980, and her team later helped create national competencies for travel trainers through partnerships with Western Michigan University and Easterseals Project ACTION. Peggy’s influence literally shaped the profession.

Her pioneering work didn’t just teach students to navigate buses; it continues to teach the rest of us what’s possible when we believe in people’s potential.

Michael VanDekreke—“The Builder and Connector”

“We don’t train people to ride a bus; we train them to be confident in their independence.”

Chicago’s transit region is complex—multiple service providers, a multitude of transit modes, numerous partner agencies and advocates, layers of coordination, and millions of riders. That’s where Michael VanDekreke, director of mobility services at the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA), does his work. His calm and welcoming spirit leads a large team, helping riders orient and navigate the big city.

Michael began his transit career as a travel trainer in 2005. Over the past 20 years, he has advanced from direct training to overseeing one of the nation’s most comprehensive regional mobility programs in Chicagoland. Under his leadership, the RTA’s accessibility and travel-training programs have helped thousands gain confidence and freedom through transit, blending direct instruction with broader community education and advocacy.

With a background in psychology and therapy, Michael approaches mobility through behavior and confidence. He understands how fear and habit shape travel and life choices, so his team focuses on rebuilding trust—in the system and in oneself.

One of Michael’s favorite travel training moments happened when a trainee with an intellectual disability got lost—or so it first seemed. As part of the final “fade-out” stage of RTA’s program, once a trainee has demonstrated mastery, they ride the bus alone while the trainer follows discreetly behind in their own car to ensure safety.

On this day, the trainer was briefly delayed at a red light while the bus moved ahead. When he caught up, the trainee hadn’t gotten off at the designated stop. The trainer followed the bus to the end of the line, only to find the trainee was no longer on board. Panic set in, until the trainer called the emergency contact and learned that the trainee had gotten off a few stops early. Remembering what he’d been taught, he simply waited for the next bus, continued the trip, and walked home.

That moment said everything about what travel training teaches. The trainee didn’t freeze or panic. He relied on what he had practiced—problem-solving, patience, and confidence—and he succeeded. That’s independence in action, and it’s why Michael’s team does this work.

In a big city, you can lose your sense of control fast. Michael’s work is about giving it back. He’s proof that structure and humanity can share the same space—that even the largest systems can remember their work is about the people they move.

Robyn Bernardy & Brittany Hoff—“The Lifeline”

Then there are Robyn Bernardy and Brittany Hoff, from GoDakota in Dakota County, MN—two of the most grounded and genuine people you’ll ever meet. They live this work, not just do it.

Since 2017, Dakota County’s Travel Training Program has provided one-on-one instruction to more than 400 individuals and group training to more than 4,500, proving that even in smaller communities, the demand for mobility education runs deep.

Robyn’s strong, caring presence leads the program with a strategist’s eye and a trainer’s heart. Before this, she led nationwide programs, helping develop travel-training curricula and processes. She not only teaches but manages the coordination and partnerships that keep programs alive, while Brittany brings that same compassion and energy to the front lines—turning vision into daily wins. Brittany’s empathy stands out immediately; she’s trained countless people from all walks of life without question or judgment.

They teach one-on-one, in small groups, and even host a standing online drop-in session where anyone from the region can log in for help—trip planning, navigation, or just human connection.

Brittany told me about a man—depressed, isolated, and shopping only at a local drugstore because it was all that was within walking distance. He was running out of food and hope before the month was over. After working with her, he learned to use transit and the connections to access his full community. Suddenly, his world expanded beyond what he could see out of his window. Now he can see a larger world of possibilities, not limitations.

It’s not a miracle. It’s what happens when people have options—when someone takes the time to show up, stay, and learn.

See Dakota County’s Travel Training Program in action on the GoDakota website. Their short video is one of the best real-world examples of how travel training changes lives.

Raven Alexander—“The Bridge”

Raven Alexander is the mobility relations and grant manager with Wichita Transit, and she’s built her program like she builds trust: steady, deliberate, and full of heart. Before transit, she worked in social services and juvenile-justice programs, helping people navigate systems that often weren’t built for them. She brought that same energy when she started a travel-training program—practical, personal, and deeply human. You want to smile when you talk to Raven; her hope and kindness shine.

As we talked, she shared a story of a trainee who had a route that included a busy street crossing that felt impossible. They practiced together, step by step, day by day. She used a fade-out method: gradually reducing her presence over multiple trips until the trainee could complete the route alone, always watching closely from a distance. When the trainee finally crossed by herself, Raven was there—a few feet away—cheering quietly through tears. That’s the kind of moment that shows what Raven’s program stands for: steady guidance, real progress, and courage in motion.

Beyond travel training, Raven has built a network of community programs and partners with service agencies, schools, and neighborhood centers that refer riders to her program and share resources. She’s turned travel training into a community connection point, not just a transit service.

And while she’s still out there doing that work in Wichita, she’s also been part of rebuilding the Association of Travel Instruction (ATI) from the ground up—rewriting bylaws, reviving membership, and modernizing systems. She’s one of those rare leaders who can fix a system while still walking the route beside someone who needs a hand.

The Reminder

I think often about one of my first trainees: a young man in his twenties living in affordable housing designed for seniors and people with disabilities. It was the only place he could afford, but it left him feeling isolated. He wanted more than the paratransit van outside his door. He wanted independence.

We spent weeks learning routes together, tracing lines on maps, practicing transfers, and testing what was possible. His training wasn’t just about using the bus; it was about confidence and connection. A few months later, he called to say he’d used his new bus pass to visit friends across town. His voice resonated with pure joy. When I saw him a year later, he was on the bus with a young woman, smiling, waving.

The Bigger Picture (and the Reality Check)

Disability is not the only reason why travel training is necessary. As we roll out new apps, trip planners, and payment systems, we sometimes forget that technology itself requires training. Access doesn’t stop at the curb; it extends into every app, every interface, every “simple” tool we put in front of riders. Even as transit options become more plentiful and technology more replete, the skillset required to take advantage of these new amenities will require increasing emphasis on marketing and instruction. The need for travel training is real and so much of it is still unmet.

We’ve become good at counting trips, costs, and on-time performance, but we still struggle to quantify what independence is worth. How do you measure someone’s confidence to cross a street alone for the first time in years? Or the ripple effect of one person learning to navigate to work, doctor appointments, and community events? That’s the next frontier: developing tools and metrics that capture the human return on investment. The data may be hard to collect, but the outcomes are unmistakable.

A Call to Action

Here’s the truth: travel trainers are some of the most impactful yet least recognized professionals in public transportation. If you work in transit and haven’t met a travel trainer, go and meet one.

If your agency already has a program, celebrate and promote it. Tell its stories. Look for opportunities to expand it. If you don’t have a program, confer with your colleagues who do. Start the conversation with influencers. Partner locally.

To every travel trainer who shared their stories with me—Peggy Groce, Michael VanDekreke, Robyn Bernardy, Brittany Hoff, and Raven Alexander—thank you! And to the hundreds more I didn’t get to interview, you are the ones who make independence possible. You build bridges between isolation and inclusion; fear and confidence; service and self-determination.

Getting Started: Key Resources

Are you wondering where to start? You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. The roadmap already exists; resources are there; they just need more champions. The following is a list of trusted organizations and resources that can help you begin:

• Association of Travel Instruction (ATI): The professional home for travel trainers, offering training, peer connection, and shared best practices. They’re rebuilding the profession from the ground up.
• Coordinating Council on Access & Mobility (CCAM-TAC): Toolkits and handbooks on travel training for older adults and people with disabilities.
• Easterseals Project ACTION Consulting: National leader providing training, consulting, and technical support for mobility and travel training.
• FTA: Guidance, webinars, and resources supporting mobility management and travel training.
• National Aging & Disability Transportation Center (NADTC): Best-practice reports, funding guidance, and case studies on travel training and inclusive mobility.
• National RTAP (Rural Transit Assistance Program): Practical resources and “Best Practices Spotlight” reports for small or rural systems.
• Transportation Research Board (TRB): Research publications and TCRP studies such as Travel Training for Older Adults and other evidence-based reports.